07-14-2017, 08:11 AM
For those of you actually considering training martial arts, let me clarify a few things so you won't get deterred by all the misinformation out on the Internet.
#1: The word "MMA" is a hybrid term that describes both a quasi-style and a sport.
When a person says they train in MMA or a school advertises itself as an MMA school, they're not referring to what you see on UFC. The term signifies that the practitioner or the school teaches two different styles and unifies them to cover up the holes in the other style.
Generally, there's a stand-up striking art (like Muay Thai, Boxing or Full Contact Kyokokushin Karate) and a grappling / ground fighting art (Brazilian Jiu-Jutsu). These classes are usually taught by two different instructors and are two COMPLETE systems. In most places, you can take one style or the other, but it's encouraged to take both, because then you'll receive well-rounded training.
Within those individual systems, you WILL DRILL SELF-DEFENSE. And lots of it. You'll do awareness training, the differences between sport encounters and real counters, resistance drills, everything that could prepare you for "the street" (which I assure you, is less dangerous than taking on a skilled martial artist). Most people don't even know how to throw a proper punch. They don't know what "closing the distance" is. They'll posture up, shove each other and throw haymakers, get winded and try to go to the ground.
THEN, if you want to compete, most schools offer a competition class that focuses SOLELY on the sport. This myth that having a sport element makes the art "flawed" is ridiculous -- only about 10% of a school's students compete. Most people take martial arts for self-defense, so the school generally focuses on that.
The next time you hear someone say, "I train MMA," or you see a school branding itself as an MMA school, ask what they teach. They'll confirm what I just said -- two or more separate and complete martial arts with an emphasis on self-defense and a competition class for those who want to compete. Don't get turned away from an MMA school with a good reputation because you think you won't learn how to handle yourself "in the streets." That's a BS myth.
#2: Sparring matches, competitions aren't as intense as a real fight because there's a referee controlling things.
Again, that's ignorance from people who don't know sh*t about what's going on. If you've ever watched a boxing match (and especially thai boxing), you've seen what looks like the boxers hugging each other. This is called the clinch. They aren't hugging or resting, they're actually WRESTLING each other for a dominant position. In Thai boxing, clinching is damn near scientific with incredible real world application. Anyway, I'm sure you've seen the referee break up the clinch. Know why they're doing that?
Because passivity isn't allowed in a pro-match. Have you ever looked up how a boxing match is scored? It's not just the number punches thrown or landed. It's actually based on AGGRESSION and which fighter dominates the ring. That's why they need so many judges, because it's partly subjective as to who won a round. Don't believe me? Look it up yourself. The ref's job is to make sure that the fight stays hyper intense.
In Thai Boxing, slipping, dodging and weaving around techniques is actually considered cowardly and you get booed for doing it! In Thai, the goal is not to give the other person a single inch. You never back up. You can only circle. But if you back up, the match is scored in favor for the other fighter. That's how you train in Thai for a real fight. Hyper-aggression -- you kill the other person, or be killed. And Muay Thai has a culture of badassery. I saw some sh*t last night that was crazy.
Got to class early -- the kids were sparring. One kid started crying because he got hit in the head. The Kru (head coach) asked him if anything were broken. Kid said no. Kru told him to stop being a punk and get up and keep fighting, because in a real fight, you can't stop.
All this crap you're hearing on the web about martial arts is generally from people that either had a bad experience, or wants to pretend that martial arts "doesn't work in real life" so they can have a reason not to take it, or not be afraid that people like me exist, who can reverse your knee cap with a single kick.
I'll just leave this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFlbs3sQ8QE
If you've never experienced a Muay Thai leg check before, shut the f*ck up. Go to a Thai school tonight, ask someone to check the sh*t out of your leg. Then come back and tell me how you failed to stop it, how bad it hurt and how you're not walking for a week.
#1: The word "MMA" is a hybrid term that describes both a quasi-style and a sport.
When a person says they train in MMA or a school advertises itself as an MMA school, they're not referring to what you see on UFC. The term signifies that the practitioner or the school teaches two different styles and unifies them to cover up the holes in the other style.
Generally, there's a stand-up striking art (like Muay Thai, Boxing or Full Contact Kyokokushin Karate) and a grappling / ground fighting art (Brazilian Jiu-Jutsu). These classes are usually taught by two different instructors and are two COMPLETE systems. In most places, you can take one style or the other, but it's encouraged to take both, because then you'll receive well-rounded training.
Within those individual systems, you WILL DRILL SELF-DEFENSE. And lots of it. You'll do awareness training, the differences between sport encounters and real counters, resistance drills, everything that could prepare you for "the street" (which I assure you, is less dangerous than taking on a skilled martial artist). Most people don't even know how to throw a proper punch. They don't know what "closing the distance" is. They'll posture up, shove each other and throw haymakers, get winded and try to go to the ground.
THEN, if you want to compete, most schools offer a competition class that focuses SOLELY on the sport. This myth that having a sport element makes the art "flawed" is ridiculous -- only about 10% of a school's students compete. Most people take martial arts for self-defense, so the school generally focuses on that.
The next time you hear someone say, "I train MMA," or you see a school branding itself as an MMA school, ask what they teach. They'll confirm what I just said -- two or more separate and complete martial arts with an emphasis on self-defense and a competition class for those who want to compete. Don't get turned away from an MMA school with a good reputation because you think you won't learn how to handle yourself "in the streets." That's a BS myth.
#2: Sparring matches, competitions aren't as intense as a real fight because there's a referee controlling things.
Again, that's ignorance from people who don't know sh*t about what's going on. If you've ever watched a boxing match (and especially thai boxing), you've seen what looks like the boxers hugging each other. This is called the clinch. They aren't hugging or resting, they're actually WRESTLING each other for a dominant position. In Thai boxing, clinching is damn near scientific with incredible real world application. Anyway, I'm sure you've seen the referee break up the clinch. Know why they're doing that?
Because passivity isn't allowed in a pro-match. Have you ever looked up how a boxing match is scored? It's not just the number punches thrown or landed. It's actually based on AGGRESSION and which fighter dominates the ring. That's why they need so many judges, because it's partly subjective as to who won a round. Don't believe me? Look it up yourself. The ref's job is to make sure that the fight stays hyper intense.
In Thai Boxing, slipping, dodging and weaving around techniques is actually considered cowardly and you get booed for doing it! In Thai, the goal is not to give the other person a single inch. You never back up. You can only circle. But if you back up, the match is scored in favor for the other fighter. That's how you train in Thai for a real fight. Hyper-aggression -- you kill the other person, or be killed. And Muay Thai has a culture of badassery. I saw some sh*t last night that was crazy.
Got to class early -- the kids were sparring. One kid started crying because he got hit in the head. The Kru (head coach) asked him if anything were broken. Kid said no. Kru told him to stop being a punk and get up and keep fighting, because in a real fight, you can't stop.
All this crap you're hearing on the web about martial arts is generally from people that either had a bad experience, or wants to pretend that martial arts "doesn't work in real life" so they can have a reason not to take it, or not be afraid that people like me exist, who can reverse your knee cap with a single kick.
I'll just leave this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFlbs3sQ8QE
If you've never experienced a Muay Thai leg check before, shut the f*ck up. Go to a Thai school tonight, ask someone to check the sh*t out of your leg. Then come back and tell me how you failed to stop it, how bad it hurt and how you're not walking for a week.
